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Rooftop tent makes simple but brilliant improvement over all others

When we first caught wind of Thule's all-new Widesky rooftop tent (RTT), we took the model name to imply a large, clear stargazing skylight on par with Inspired Overland's fully transparent roof. We had the idea of open views correct, but instead of a skylight, Thule's latest RTT encourages panoramic viewing in a different way, one we haven't seen on other rooftop tents. In doing so, it creates a high-riding space in which you'll want to spend both waking and sleeping hours.

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Category: Tents, Gear, Outdoors

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'Sweater for houses' could reduce heating bills by at least 15%

Keeping homes warm in winter is becoming extremely expensive, and many existing methods aren't always efficient. In the US alone, tens of millions of people struggle with energy costs and often have to cut back on basic expenses, including food, just to be able to afford heating. With ongoing fossil fuel dependency and climate change, traditional heating methods are not only costly but also environmentally harmful.

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Category: Energy, Engineering

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24-ft tiny house designed for comfortable full-time life on wheels

Designed to maximize comfort in a compact footprint, the Currumbin combines a smart layout with some well-thought-out features to create a home that's suitable for full-time life on wheels. There are lots of optional upgrades available too, including an off-grid setup and an outdoor terrace area.

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Category: Tiny Houses, Outdoors

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Cheeky caterpillars trick ants into treating them as queens

Baby caterpillars have figured out how to get themselves the royal treatment in certain ant colonies – getting carried around like precious cargo, fed on demand, guarded and being rescued from danger. But why would ants give this celebrity status to a caterpillar? The secret lies in perfect mimicry: the caterpillar copies not just the queen ant’s chemical scent, but the exact rhythm of her vibrations.

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Category: Biology, Science

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"Spin-flip" system pushes solar cell energy conversion efficiency past 100%

Energy can never be created or destroyed. That's basic Physics 101. You simply cannot create energy out of thin air. Yet researchers at Kyushu University in Japan say they have developed a technology that pushes the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells to 130%!

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Category: Energy, Engineering

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Vehicle-less camper pod supersizes into sub-$5K loungy squaredrop

The market for versatile, vehicle-agnostic camper pods seems to be growing. A year after the original Tusca HitchHiker emerged, it morphed into the Freedom Camper lineup from Redneck Blinds in 2025. And we've noticed an uptick in similar drop-and-drive truck/trailer pods showing up from other builders.

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Category: RVs and Motorhomes, Adventure Vehicles, Outdoors

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A strange new eye cell is rewriting how vision works

For more than 150 years, vertebrate vision has been understood as a two-part system: rods for low-light conditions, and cones for bright light and color. That tidy division is now under the microscope, as researchers from the University of Queensland have discovered a new hybrid cell that breaks the rule: rod-shaped photoreceptors that run cone-specific genetic programs.

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Category: Biology, Science

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AI suit teaches you new skills by taking control of your muscles

Imagine learning to operate a piece of machinery you've never previously touched, not through a tutorial, but through your own hands electrically guided through the right motions. That's the core idea behind an AI-powered suit created by researchers from the University of Chicago.

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Category: AI and Humanoids, Technology

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Regulatory roadblock transformed into striking triangular design

After Polish architecture firm KWK Promes won a competition in 2016 to design a luxury single-family home in suburban Vilnius, Lithuania, a law slashed the allowable building footprint in half. While the client saw this as a reason to move the project to another site, KWK Promes saw the problem from the unique view of architects – where constraints aren’t obstacles but essential drivers of innovation. Thus, the striking triangular form that would be known as the Trim House was born.

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Category: Architecture, Engineering

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Volkswagen Basecamp van takes the next step in multi-fuel RV life

If the average RV company said it was hard at work on the "most robust, self-sufficient and luxurious camper van" it's ever built, we might dismiss it as hollow marketing hype. But Dutch converter Tonke isn't the average RV company. It has a yearslong history of bringing camper innovations to market, from truck-back wood cabins, to sleek, high-quality electric camper vans, to expandable side-popping roofs. So we're excited to see what it has in store for Volkswagen's newest Transporter.

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Category: Campervans, Adventure Vehicles, Outdoors

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Why are some skies bluer than others?

Imagine it’s a regular Tuesday morning and you’re in Antarctica. Your eyes meet the sky, and the blue is so vivid it feels electric. The air is so clean you can just about taste it. Now, picture a dust storm over the Himalayas; you squint, trying to catch a hint of that crisp blue, but all you see is a fuzzy white. Why are the skies in some parts of the world bluer than those in other parts?

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Category: Environment, Science

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